Tuesday, March 31, 2015, 5:08 p.m.

U.S. consumer spending up 0.4% in December

WASHINGTON — Americans increased their spending at a solid pace for the second straight month in December even though their income was flat.

Consumer spending rose 0.4 percent in December, compared with November when spending had increased an even stronger 0.6 percent, the Commerce Department reported Friday. That was the best gain in five months.

Income, however, showed no gain at all in December after a 0.2 percent rise in November.